INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 16The Supreme Court has ordered the government to distribute copies of the constitution (pocket
size) free of cost to all households through Law Book Management Committee with the help of local levels.
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Releasing the full text of its verdict delivered in the case filed by Advocate Bikash Bhattarai against the government, the apex court
ruled that people who had participated in the constitution making process directly or indirectly expected to see the provisions in the
constitution and whether or not their suggestions were incorporated in the constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly elected by the
Stating that distributing the copies of the constitution to all households was the state's public duty, the top court said the government
needed to upload the constitution on a certain website so that people could easily access and download it
The verdict was delivered by a division bench of Justice Sushmalata Mathema and Hari Prasad Phuyal on September 10.The SC also ordered the
government to publicise the main features of the constitution through mass media.It ordered the government to ensure that copies of the
constitution printed for long-term use of readers are available at the lowest cost in all districts and local levels.
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs will have to submit a report on the execution of this order within six months of the date
the defendants get the copies of the court order.The SC said as stakeholders took part in the constitution making process directly or
indirectly, it was natural for them to know what provisions are contained in the constitution.The SC said that it was natural of informed
citizenry to know whether or not their suggestions were incorporated in the constitution.The top court rejected the precedent set in the
Advocate Narhari Acharya versus the government (Nepal Kanoon Patrika, 2050, issue 2, verdict No 4695) where the SC had refused to order the
government to distribute the constitution of 1990 saying the said constitution was promulgated by a commission whereas the current
constitution was promulgated by the Constituent Assembly
As the current constitution was issued by the people, it should be easily accessible
Responding to the government's argument that it is not possible to distribute copies of the constitution free of cost, the apex court said
the draft of the constitution was distributed free of cost before it was finalised, it could not be said that the copies of the constitution
could not be distributed free of cost now.The court observed that the current constitution was fundamentally different from past
constitutions as this constitution was promulgated after intense debate in two Constituent Assemblies.While the Interim Constitution of 2007
was promulgated by political parties, other constitutions of the past were promulgated by the king
Writing a constitution is a complex and expensive work
People own up the constitution promulgated by the Constituent Assembly, the court said.The court said that transformative preamble,
fundamental rights, federalism, pluralistic governing system, independent judiciary, constitutional watchdog bodies and proportional
inclusion were the main features of the constitution.The court said though the laws were available on government websites, it was imperative
to distribute free copies of the constitution as many people in the country still lacked access to the internet.A version of this article
appears in the print on October 17, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
